Somnium Adventus
by HannahLupin
Summary: *OotP spoilers* After another nightmare, Harry is greeted with a surprise that he never dreamed possible. So to speak. H/D Slash. Rating for slash.


Summary: After another nightmare of Sirius's death, Harry is greeted with a surprise that he never dreamed possible. So to speak. H/D Slash.

Disclaimer: If they belonged to me, this wouldn't be on a fan fiction site, would it? Ah, well, don't sue.

Dedication: To Constance Malfoy, whose review convinced me to write this.

A/N: I fear I was a bit OOC with Malfoy in this one. So in your reviews, where I will accept both praise and constructive criticism, I hope you will not point out this fact, since I am aware of it. If, however, you don't think he was horribly OOC, I would like to know. And yes, I _am_ the run-on sentence queen, and I apologize.

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Somnium Adventus

Harry Potter lay upon his bed in the smallest bedroom of 4 Privet Drive, thrashing about. You see, he was not your normal 15-year-old boy. He was magical, a wizard, but not just any wizard. He had survived interactions with Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard in over a century, several times. The most recent time, he had met him at the Ministry of Magic, right after his godfather, Sirius, had died. His fatal fall had been the result of a curse issued by Bellatrix Lestrange, who had been Sirius's own cousin. The spell that had hit Sirius had not been the killing curse, but once he had fallen behind the veil, he was gone instantly.

Now as Harry rolled around in a despairing manner on his bed, he was immersed in a nightmare.

At first he had seen Sirius's death, once again, in a painfully slow process. Now Bellatrix Lestrange was standing before him, taunting him, and he seemed powerless to fight back. He lunged at her countless times within the dream, whenever she insulted Sirius. Instead of reaching her, however, she just seemed to move further away without any effort, her voice still loud and mocking as it had been. Soon she began advancing on him, yet still out of his reach. Suddenly, he seemed to be rooted to the spot.

"Since you looked up to him _so_ much," her voice was revealing more malice as she spoke, "you can die just as he did." As she gave him a hard shove, the same veil was before him, and his feet immediately left the ground as if they had just been unlocked from it. He stumbled forward and was about to fall to his death...

Harry awoke with a start in a cold sweat, as if he had really almost fallen into the veil to meet death. He took a moment to clear his mind. Upon surveying the room, he was positive that he could not have been at the Ministry where the veil was located. It had only been a dream. This thought did not comfort him, though.

Despite the fact that moments ago he had been wide awake, abruptly Harry began to feel drowsy. It was as if something was calling him. In the back of his mind it seemed something was beckoning, "_Sleep, Harry. Please sleep, so that I can help you_." Harry succumbed to the distant voice, and fell again into slumber.

_He was in the astronomy tower at Hogwarts. That much was evident from the start. He was waiting for someone. He knew that much, but he did not and could not know who._

_When Harry heard footsteps slowly approaching him, he did not turn around. He waited for the one that had drawn him here to speak._

_But when the person did, Harry could not have been more surprised._

_"Hello, Harry," the familiar drawl of Draco Malfoy greeted him. This voice, however, did not express the extreme contempt that Harry was accustomed to hearing._

_Harry turned toward him to confirm his suspicions, and the elegant face with piercing silver eyes came into view. "M-malfoy?" He had not meant for his voice to waver, and cursed himself silently that he had let it._

_Surprisingly, the Slytherin boy smiled in return. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're here. Why I'm the only other one here with you." Harry shuddered slightly at the words 'here with you', and not from fear. "I was hoping to talk to you." Draco spoke as if he had been through this many times and was quite sure of the outcome. It made Harry feel quite awkward that Draco seemed perfectly at home with him in this dream, this fantasy, and even though the dream was his own, Harry himself felt out of place. "And though I suppose I already know, Harry," now Draco's eyes met his in a hard stare, "I need you to tell me. What do you really think of me. Me. Not my father. I am _not_ my father." His tone was rather indignant._

_Harry knew instantly what his answer would be. But this was all ridiculous. "I'm only dreaming," he said aloud. But as soon as the words escaped his mouth he knew that could not be entirely true. He had full awareness of all of his senses, and he did not have to pinch himself to know that he would feel it._

_"Are you, Harry?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. "Maybe I should explain. I used _Somnium Adventus_." Harry's blank stare caused him to continue explaining. "It is a spell used to meet someone within their dreams. But the only way it can be accomplished is if you think of an existing place to meet, your motives are pure, and the person whose dreams you are entering would be willing to let you in if they knew the motives. So, you see, Harry. I know you would accept my feelings. But I must hear yours."_

_"Wait, wait. Just...wait." Harry's mind was still reeling from this newly introduced spell. "Are you trying to tell me that you...you're..._interested_ in me?" he blurted, unable to come up with better wording._

_"Yes," Draco said patiently._

_"But this must be a dream. Surely you wouldn't suddenly show up one night to confess something like this...not unless it was a way to get to me..." Harry would have continued, but Draco cut him off._

_"I can end it now, if you like. You can check your books. They will tell you all about _Somnium Adventus_. Then, once you are convinced, you can use the spell to meet me back here." Harry nodded that he would do just that, and Draco muttered '_Finite Incantantem_' under his breath._

Harry awakened in his bed, but this time, the same amount of time had passed as he had experienced in the dream, and he could remember every aspect of it as well. Determined to prove the Malfoy in his dream wrong, he pulled out his school books to search for _Somnium Adventus_. It did not take long. In his charms book, the spell was described exactly as he had heard it described in his dream. The book took the explanation further, however, and said that the participants in this dream could not lie about anything while inside. Harry remained skeptical of everything that had happened, however. What if Malfoy had used a different spell where he _could_ lie? He knew that he'd have to use the spell himself and make the Slytherin boy repeat what he had said before he confessed to anything.

Focusing on the Astronomy Tower and explaining his feelings to Draco, Harry felt himself drift to sleep even as he said the words '_Somnium Adventus_.'

_"Well," Draco said as soon as Harry felt the ground beneath him, "that didn't take long."_

_"Tell me again what you said before," Harry said in a harsh voice that dared him to say something different. He would kill him if he did._

_"Which part?" Harry's surprise was evident when the voice that Draco retorted with was speaking in a soft tone._

_"How you feel...about me." Harry felt rather uncomfortable saying it. If Draco _had_ been using a different spell, and lied, then he would be able to tell from this statement, surely, that Harry felt something for _him_._

_"I've told you, Harry. I am interested in you, else I wouldn't have initiated our meeting at all."_

_Harry cast a suspicious look upon Draco. "Define interested."_

_Draco sighed, as if to show he was becoming impatient with the whole ordeal. "I want to snog you bloody senseless!" He shouted in one breath._

_Harry's eyes widened as Draco stared at the floor, which was uncharacteristic of him, even when embarrassed. "You...you what?"_

_"You heard me. And you still haven't told me how _you_ feel." His silver eyes had returned their gaze to Harry's face once more._

_"Oh," Harry was still a bit shocked, and didn't know what to say. "Well...Kind of the same way."_

_Draco gave a hollow laugh. "Kind of?" he asked, dejected. He looked away from Harry's face, to the right somewhere._

_"Well, I am, er--_interested_ in you, Draco." The use of his first name caused Draco to look back at Harry. "But, don't you agree that nothing could go on between us? Your father is out to _kill_ me."_

_Draco sighed. It was a knowing sigh, the kind that said he had thought of the same thing already. "Yes, we could not do anything in the physical world. At least, not while Voldemort is alive and my father as well. If I defied the family they would kill me, and if we tried anything in secret we would eventually be found out. I think we could use _Somnium Adventus_ for now, though. Then we could see each other, and even though we could pretend in public, we will both know that at night we can return to each other, if only in a dream state."_

And so they continued using this untraceable, secret way of meeting. Draco would comfort Harry about his nightmares, and Harry would comfort Draco about his father. And sometimes...well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks. Draco's interest in Harry did not starve.

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A/N II: Hmm...the story didn't go quite the way I would have liked. I didn't really explain where the feelings were discovered as I was planning. But there it is anyway. Please review, and be gentle. No flames please, though your constructive criticism is helpful.


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